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The event had been described as
“very rare”
by the Vendée firefighters.
On March 9, they intervened for a fire in a wind farm located in the town of Froidfond.
One of the wind turbines - number 9 of the 14 on the site - had caught fire.
Faced with the dangerousness of the phenomenon, they had let the flames burn out.
Contacted by
Le Figaro
, the mayor of the town, Philippe Guérin explained that this was not the first time that this type of incident had occurred.
"There was already the same problem with wind turbine No. 7 five or six years ago
," he said.
A recurrence of problems that can challenge.
Especially since the last event had followed a
“maintenance operation”
according to the city councilor.
To find out more, the Vendée prefecture has given formal notice to the operator of the wind farm, Engie Green, to provide it with explanations.
A decree was issued to this effect on March 14.
It is based on a statement of several facts.
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Mast stability
The State services note that
"the fire is likely to compromise the mechanical stability of the mast"
, that
"the fall of parts of the wind turbine […] may affect human health and safety"
or although
"hydrocarbon projections are likely to have polluted the soil, water and vegetation around the wind turbine"
.
It is also indicated that
“the fall of other elements of the wind turbine cannot be excluded”
.
Faced with this, the company is asked to
“take the necessary measures to secure the surroundings of wind turbine No. 9”
and to
“remove any risk of the machine and its components falling”
.
For this, Engie Green has two months to
“dismantle and ground all the elements of wind turbine 9
likely to fall”
.
In the meantime, the company is
"required to maintain permanent guard type surveillance around the wind turbine"
and
"to install information panels on the risks of falling elements"
which must be kept in "
good condition”
.
For its part, the prefecture mentions that a
“security perimeter has been established”
.
It prohibits access within 200 meters of the wind turbine mast.
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Waste disposal
In addition, the Vendée prefecture enjoins Engie Green to
“send an accident report”
to it within ten days.
This must in particular mention the
“circumstances and causes of the accident”
as well as
“the effects on people and the environment”
.
Subsequently, within a maximum period of one month, the company is required to
“collect the waste present on the ground around the wind turbine and generated by the accident”
.
He is also asked, within two months, to
"have a soil study carried out [...] to characterize the possible impact of the accident generated by the substances which may have flowed"
.
According to the prefecture of Vendée, if an impact is characterized, the operator will have to carry out
"necessary depollution work"
.
As for the return to operation of wind turbine No. 9, it is conditioned on several factors, in particular
"the integrity of the structural elements of the wind turbine"
and
"the operation of the equipment through shutdown tests , emergency stop and stop from overspeed”
.
As for the restart of wind turbines n°7 and n°8 located nearby,
"to the conclusions"
of the accident report.
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Samples taken
Contacted by
Le Figaro
, the company Engie Green indicates that it has already carried out the
"securing of the site with the delimitation of a perimeter prohibited to third parties"
and that it has set up
"guarding"
of the premises.
On the subject of "possible"
pollution
, which the operator considers to be
"very localized"
, he specifies that
"soil and runoff water samples have taken place and are being analyzed".
Finally, Engie Green announces that it has already launched the site preparation phase, which consists of
“optimizing the safety of the people who will work on the wind turbine for its dismantling”
.